Mint Butter

I happened upon this intriguing idea while perusing this cookbook a few weeks ago, and it’s been on my mind ever since.  So I decidedto give it a shot: a big batch of flavored butter, stored in a long roll in the freezer, and then I can cut a hunk off whenever needed.

Since the children love peas so, I decided to start with the mint butter.  A lot of mint, some honey, a touch of orange, and two sticks of butter, all pureed in the cuisinart.  And, y’know what?  It works!  Next time I make it, I think I’ll add even more mint: the taste is a bit more delicate than I would have guessed it was.  Overall, a really good idea, too.

Mint Butter, from The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserves: Over 300 Delicious Recipes to use Year Round, by Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard.  Pg 331

Madras Pickled Eggplant

I had half an eggplant left over from dinner, and in my quest to 1) waste less food 2) make more preserves 3) eat more pickles, I decided to go for this.  I tweaked the spices a little (1/2 a teaspoon chili powder instead of 2 tablespoons, and I didn’t have fenugreek or tumeric so I used some others that sounded like they’d go) and left out the chile peppers.

It’s actually really good.  There’s such a variety of spices, and an awful lot of sugar, that there’s a whole lot of layered flavors that slowly come out.  The silky texture of the eggplant makes it taste very rich, too.  I have an entire pickle jar of this stuff now, and I have no idea what I’m going to do with it, but it is actually really, really good.  I wonder if the kids will touch it.

Madras Pickled Eggplant, from The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving, by Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard.  pg 153.